i88 
ALLEn's naturalist’s LlflRAfeY* 
Whitethroat, inasmuch as the Lesser Whitethroat is a more 
retiring bird, and does not place itself so much in evidence 
as its ally. It is quite as unobtrusive as the Garden Warbler 
and, like that species, frequents the most secluded localities! 
It arrives in England somewhat later than S. sylvia, and as 
the foliage is then more advanced, this may be one reason 
why the Lesser Whitethroat is less noticed than that species. 
Like the latter it frequents hedgerows and lanes, but is more 
often seen in the higher trees than the Whitethroat. Its food 
consists of insects, in pursuit of which it hops from twig to twig 
and examines all the leaves, after the fashion of Warblers ; it 
also varies its diet with fruit, and is said to be especially fond 
wu-u ieS an - C ^ • ie< ^ currants ! while we can affirm that, like the 
\Y hitethroat, it is capable of doing considerable damage among 
the peas. In the autumn it feeds on berries. The song of the 
Lesser Whitethroat is described by Mr. Seebohm as “a mono- 
tonous trill, sometimes like the first notes of the song of the 
Yellow Bunting, but it is frequently preceded by a few notes, 
which, though they are not very varied nor very loud, are by no 
means unmusical, and somewhat resemble the twittering of a 
Swallow. Its call-note resembles the syllable check several times 
repeated and sometimes varied with a more guttural cry.” Like 
other Warblers, it utters a harsh grating note when alarmed or 
disturbed near its nesting-place. 
Nest. — Not so deep as that of the Common Whitethroat but 
very similar in construction, though somewhat more coarsely 
made. The materials are fine grass-stems, and spiders’ webs 
or the cocoons of caterpillars are used to bind it together, while 
the linings consist of fine rootlets or horsehair. It is sometimes 
placed in the higher branches of a tall hedgerow or in bushes 
but is also to be found in brambles or furze. 
Eggs — Four to six in number. The ground-colour is china- 
white, spotted with light brown or greenish-brown, and having 
very distinct underlying blotches and spots of violet-grey^ 
generally forming a ring near the larger end of the egg. In 
some instances the darker markings are accompanied by ab- 
solutely black spots, distributed irregularly over the egg. Axis 
o’65-o'75 inchj diam., o‘5-o'55. 
